The present invention relates to a mobile information communicating terminal device having a video camera, and more particularly to a mobile information communicating terminal device having a video camera which does not require a vertical inversion processing of an image signal even if an object to be photographed is changed from a forward object of the device to a rearward object thereof.
A mobile telephone has rapidly spread with a development of multifunctionality, for example, a size can be reduced, a price can be cut down, and an electronic mail can be exchanged and internet can be accessed in addition to calling.
If a mobile telephone and a video camera are combined with each other and an image can be fetched and transmitted, the mobile telephone becomes more convenient to be utilized as the video camera and a mobile television telephone. As a composite device having a mobile telephone and a video camera combined with each other, JP-A-8-294030 has described a mobile telephone integrating type video camera, for example as shown in FIG. 9. In the mobile telephone integrating type video camera, a camera housing having a video camera, an ear speaker and a microphone mounted integrally thereon is pivotally supported on an upper part of a housing body to be rotatable (tiltable) in a horizontal direction. The video camera and the microphone are provided on the same plane and the ear speaker is provided on an orthogonal plane. When the mobile telephone integrating type video camera is to be used as a hand set type telephone, the ear speaker is turned toward a front face of a housing body and the video camera is caused to go around in the housing. Moreover, when the mobile telephone integrating type video camera is to be used as a hands free type television telephone for photographing a caller's face, a video camera is rotated toward the front face side of a housing body. When the mobile telephone integrating type video camera is to be used as a video camera for photographing an object present in a rear part, the video camera is rotated toward the back face side of the housing body.
In the mobile telephone integrating type video camera, the video camera is pivotally supported on the upper part of the housing body to be rotatable (tiltable) in the horizontal direction. Therefore, when the mobile telephone integrating type video camera is to be used as a television telephone for photographing his (her) own face and is to be used as a video camera for photographing an object present in a rear part, the video camera is vertically inverted. For this reason, when the mobile telephone integrating type video camera is to be used as the television telephone and is to be used as the video camera, an image signal should be subjected to a vertical inversion processing.
Moreover, when the conventional mobile telephone integrating type video camera is to be used as the hands free type television telephone, the video camera is rotated toward the front face of the housing body, that is, the side on which a display section such as a liquid crystal to be a monitor screen is provided. Therefore, there has been a problem in that an image of a caller's face seeing the display section can be transmitted but an image of an object on the back face side of the housing body which is being seen by the caller, for example, an image of an accident spot, a scene of a fire or a beautiful scenery which is being seen by the caller cannot be transmitted through a monitor to carry out explanation with a relay from the spot toward a calling party by means of a television telephone.